It’s time to elaborate the Less is More principle of web copywriting.
Long and convoluted sentences may read well in print, but will appear forbidding on the computer screen. To attract customers, web copywriters should keep their copies short and simple. Flowery words and lengthy sentences will only distract readers from finding the message of the website, and will also give readers the impression that the copywriter is a showoff.
The use of short stories, metaphors or anecdotes at the beginning of web articles is not appropriate. Online readers are hasty in finding the information they want to know. If the web page failed to satisfy their want because of unnecessary sentences and phrases, they will not hesitate to go to other websites. Readers will only give each web page ten seconds to capture their interest, meaning they will scan right past an article that doesn’t have an attention-grabbing introduction. Web copywriters should introduce a product or service with short and clear statements.
A call to action in a short and simple copy will attract traffic and ultimately create sales. In order to encourage a reader to buy the product or to avail the service of a website, a web copywriter should learn to create urgency by using phrases such as for limited time only, limited supplies, or free registration within June. When creating urgency, however, it is important to keep one’s credibility and honesty. It is downright wrong to offer a discount that has already expired or to offer a gift that is no longer available. Destruction is the eventual end of a company that practices dishonesty.
Web copywriters are not writing to impress but to communicate. The aim of copywriting is about getting the information across with the fewest words possible. A single copy should have fifty words or less, with its sentences limited only to 15 to 20 words and its paragraphs limited to 40 to 70 words.
